Made with ❤️ && for Freedom
I wrote a review before, but after reading my previous articles, I realized that this kind of review seems repetitive. I decided to hide it, and there's a link at the end. I thought that since I'm not a professional film critic and my writing is quite ordinary (even annoying to read), I should write something more personal.
Actually, I really like this ending. The male protagonist, without any means to fight back, is instantly killed by the villain's secret weapon—very true to the cyberpunk reality. However, he successfully rescues the female lead, who ultimately goes to the moon alone, unable to stop thinking about the male lead—very Japanese.
At that time, I was thinking, in a world filled with despair and helplessness, isn't it great to be able to do everything you can for even just one person, even if it's for something as basic as surviving?
Compared to the tragic ending where the female lead dies, or the naïve fairy tale ending where the male and female leads live happily ever after, this ending, which stays true to the cyberpunk world while preserving love and hope, is indeed excellent among the series. I also prefer this type of ending in Japanese anime works, where the female lead's pain is adequately portrayed, but it's not too unbearable. You can even feel a little bit of happiness from the male lead—the happiness of letting the female lead survive.
This is part of that article, written vaguely, but the meaning is indeed like this.
The whole world is set in a cyberpunk universe, where large corporations hold power; wealthy people can enjoy the world's prosperity without leaving their homes, enjoying emergency medical services that arrive within minutes; while dying poor people aren't even worth the attention of an ambulance team.
Our protagonists are a group of poor people, but as main characters, they can't be completely useless, right? The male protagonist, David Martinez, has an extraordinary ability to accept cybernetic enhancements. But in the end, as is typical of cyberpunk, the male lead is easily eliminated by the secret weapon of a large corporation, and the entire team perishes one by one in a treacherous world.
Fortunately, the male lead's efforts aren't in vain. Lucy ultimately survives and achieves her long-held dream—to go to the moon.
Helicon: You look tired, don't you?
Caligula: I've come a long way.
Helicon: Yes, you've been gone for a long time.
Caligula: It's hard to get what I want.
Helicon: What do you want?
Caligula: (Calmly) The moon.
Helicon: What?
Caligula: Yes, at that time, I wanted the moon.——Albert Camus, "Caligula" (play)
The two works have completely different themes, content, and subject matter, but I think the protagonists share similarities, and the moon naturally becomes the symbol of their pursuits. Caligula seeks freedom in the absurd, while Lucy in this show pursues a world free from the cyberpunk social structure.
Speaking of this ending, even when I try my best to put myself in the character's shoes, I think it's not bad.
The protagonists must have experienced the absurdity of the cyberpunk world to become part of the cyberpunk community, and they know their own insignificance and powerlessness. The worst aspect of this world isn't the class differences or wealth gap, but the rigidification of society itself. In other words, the protagonists can't do anything to change this world, no matter what astonishing feats they accomplish. Look, even when wearing the most powerful cybernetic enhancements throughout the story, they still have no chance against the corporate secret weapon, do they?
The absurdity of cyberpunk lies in the powerlessness of individuals.
But the male lead did manage to change something—although it wasn't as significant as changing the social structure or the power of large corporations, he rescued Lucy from the hands of the corporate secret weapon. In such a world, instead of being trapped in hell, unable to do anything, it's indeed better to save the one you love. Perhaps this is the only bit of happiness that the underprivileged in the cyberpunk world can strive for.
That's why, in the end, David and Lucy can smile.
作者： illlights